The present invention relates to a shelving system and, in fact, to a modified and improved clip device for use therewith. With regard to wire shelving, attention is directed to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,598,064 and 3,765,634 to Stempel. Reference is also made to a co-pending design application for a somewhat similar folding shelf system, U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 705,502. In that design arrangement, the horizontal edge wires adjacent front and rear corners of the shelf extend outwardly beyond the main body of the shelf. These edge wire extensions pass through openings provided in front and rear pairs of support posts and directly provide the means for both shelf support on the posts and for relative pivoting therebetween.
That folding shelving system was subsequently modified by removing the edge wire extensions and by using a support clip as in FIG. 1a. Such a clip was mounted on the front face of the rear posts and the rear face of the front posts and the clip had a width less than the width of the post. The clip had a general J-shape, as shown, with the upwardly extending opening receiving a portion of the horizontal edge wires on the front and rear sides of the shelf. This clip, however, while suitable to provide vertical support for the shelf and for permitting pivoting of the shelf relative to the posts, the clip did not hold the edge wire within the opening nor did it provide sufficient stability for the shelf, either when the shelf system was folded in an upright, flat position against a wall, as when the rear posts themselves were attached to wall, or when unfolded with the front posts in contact with the floor.
Reference is also made to another co-pending, commonly assigned application, Ser. No. 714,445, dealing with a support clip in the form of an upwardly opening hook which extends outwardly from a rear planar body portion. That planar portion includes a resilient tab or finger integrally formed thereon to retain the edge wire of a rack or shelf and the top rear portion of the hook includes a rearwardly extending protrusion to cooperate with the resilient tab to help hold the edge wire in the hook.
Other folding shelves or racks of which the applicant is familiar are set forth in McKenzie, U.S. Pat. No. 253,081, Allen, U.S. Pat. No. 538,145, Arnold, U.S. Pat. No. 1,109,953, Cady, U.S. Pat. No. 1,727,048, Magnuson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,305,629, and Kilkelly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,548,327.
McKenzie discloses a clothes rack that has a pair of rear supports mounted to a wall and a pair of movable front supports connected to the rear supports by horizontal or transverse rods pivotally supported to both the back and front members by a pin as well as a series of longitudinal bars spanning across the front supports and between.
Allen discloses a free standing display rack comprised of four vertical posts with four spaced apart shelves vertically stacked therebetween. The corner posts are pivotally connected to the ends of the side edges of the shelves by bolts or screws, with the system also including bracing bar on each side of the device.
Arnold shows a collapsible wall mounted rack in the form of a plurality of separate arms, one end of which is pivotally connected to a plate attached to a wall. The other end of each arm is pivotally attached to a separate plate so that the arms, as a unit, can pivot toward and away from the wall. The rack also includes a brace member for holding the rack in its opened position. Each of the pivot connections is in the form of a simple hinge.
Cady discloses a free standing folding shelf arrangement where the vertical support posts are pivotally connected to a series of shelves. The connection therebetween is provided by a rod that passes along the front and rear edge of the shelf and through each of the vertical posts with a screw cap clamping the rod and posts together.
Magnuson concerns a collapsible wall mounted wardrobe rack having a plurality of shelves pivotally connected to front and rear vertical support members, the rear members being connected to a wall. The pivot connection is provided by a rivet or a bolt that passes through the vertical supports and the side member of the shelf.
Kilkelly shows a closet shelving system which includes J-shaped clips for mounting shelving to a stationary post or directly to a wall. Some of the clips are similar to that shown in FIG. 1a and one embodiment shown in FIG. 4 includes a flexible, resilient fin positioned so as to overlie the recess formed in the clip and retain the edge rod of a shelf in the recess of the clip.